Two very important issues facing the nations of today's modern world are, (1) a critical shortage of water in many geographical regions and (2) an unceasing and ever increasing concern for our environment. The present invention has been designed to help alleviate the concerns of many people as related to both of the above-noted universal concerns. More specifically, the subject invention is an improvement over the above noted copending application in which applicant has set forth an apparatus which will capture some of the sun's energy and utilize it to produce purified potable water. The load water which is utilized can be in the form of sea water, industrial wastewater, agricultural wastewater, sludge or any other form of contaminated liquid or semi-liquid which contains water.
The above noted earlier application utilizes the sun's energy to produce vaporization of the load within a domed structure wherein the vapors condense on the interior surface of the domed structure. After condensing, the condensate flows by gravity down the interior surface of the domed structure to a collecting tank where it is transferred to a storage tank or to the point of use. It can readily be seen that such a system would be well received since it makes a significant contribution toward alleviating the aforementioned problem relative to today's critical water shortage problem.
With respect to the second issue noted above, it can readily be seen that any apparatus which contributes to a reduction of the various types of polluted waters, industrial and agricultural wastewater which would normally end up in our rivers, lakes and streams would likewise be well received. If these various forms of polluted water were collected and transported to a plant utilizing the instant invention, there would be a dual benefit derived, i.e. there would be more pure water available to the communities and correspondingly, there would be an immediate reduction in the volume of polluted liquids, semi-liquids, or sludge available to pollute our streams, rivers and lakes, thus improving our environment significantly.
All of the above-noted problems and applicant's solar water purification device have been clearly set forth in the earlier noted application. However, the instant application is directed to ways of improving the efficiency of the condensation process within the domed upper structure and also increasing the amount of heat transferred to the load. (The term "load" as used hereinafter is intended to cover any and all forms of polluted wastewater such as agricultural, industrial or commercial wastewater, sewerage water, seawater, but not limited thereto). As also pointed out in the earlier application, residue by-products such as fertilizer derived from the load evaporation process are considered to be covered by the subject invention.